Alexandros comments on Fixedness From Frailty - Less Wrong

10 Post author: Vaniver 14 November 2010 09:51PM

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Comment author: NancyLebovitz 15 November 2010 03:17:43AM *  1 point [-]

Are there good self-tests for sanity?

I read an account some years ago by a woman who'd gone through withdrawal from steroids. She had an elaborate hallucination of secret agencies setting up a communications center in her hospital room.

She said that it never occurred to her during the hallucination to do a plausibility check.

Comment author: Alexandros 18 November 2010 03:20:26PM 0 points [-]

I suppose you can test for consistency but not much else. If you're processing a consistent stream of signals, how would you be able to differentiate stream A from A', where A is reality and A' is a hallucination consistent with your past? That said, checking for consistency should be enough.